JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s state-run tin miner PT Timah is optimistic that it can reach its output target of 21,500 metric tons this year, despite weak production in the first half, its chief executive Restu Widiyantoro told a parliamentary hearing on Monday.
He said a task force cracking down on illegal tin mining in Timah’s mining zone is expected to help the company reach its target.
In the first half this year, Timah’s tin ore output fell 32% year-on-year to 6,997 tons, while its refined tin production fell 29% to 6,870 tons, company data showed.
Earlier this year, Restu said competition from illegal miners was to blame for its lower than expected output. Heavy rains and delays in opening new mines also had an impact, company director Nur Adi Kuncoro said at the same hearing.
Restu said on Monday that a task force has been assigned to crack down on illegal mining activities in Indonesia’s tin mining hub of Bangka and Belitung Islands, and will also target the middlemen who buy ore from illegal operators.
Indonesia is the world’s second largest tin producer after China, but it has often struggled with illegal mining activities.
It has made efforts to crack down on illegal production, and requires buyers and sellers to to trade refined tin through exchanges to improve traceability.
(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by David Stanway)
